Misogynistic Creation Myths: Greece and Genesis

Comparing the Greek myths of creation with the Judeo-Christian myths of creation, one can find some striking similarities between the two in terms of the creation of humanity. In both, a male god figure creates life from earth, a feminine aspect. Further, the early human women in both cause problems for humanity. Going into further detail, this leads to one conclusion about both myths: they have a misogynistic viewpoint, placing the male in a role superior to the female. In this paper, comparisons between both myths will be detailed, giving specific examples from both cultures demonstrating the usurping of female essences by male figures as the dominant creation force, then expositing on the role the early human females play in these two principle myths of Western civilization. Finally, the symbols shared and the meanings inherent will be analyzed to further demonstrate the blatant overthrow of the feminine as the primary life source in these myths in favor of the masculine.
First, we must examine the very creation of human life in these two myths. In the Greek myth, Prometheus acts as the creator figure. He is one of the Titans born of the Mother Goddess, Gaea, and her husband, Uranus, who is labeled as “the most intelligent and clever Titan.” (Rosenberg, 84) Prometheus creates human beings from clay and water, a sort of mud borne from the earth, itself. In the Christian myth, a very similar creation of human life takes place:

“But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:6-2:7)

Here we are faced with a striking use of a very similar symbol in both myths. In the Greek, Prometheus creates mankind from clay and water. In the Judeo-Christian myth, God is said to have created man from the dirt of the earth, but it is important to note that just prior to this creation, a mist had arisen from the ground. Again we see the combination of water and earth. Symbolically, earth is a representation of “the Great Mother; Mother Earth; the universal genetrix.” (Cooper, 59) Similarly, “all waters are symbolic of the Great Mother and associated with birth, the feminine principle, the universal womb, the prima material.” (Cooper, 188)
In the use of these two powerful symbols, the strong presence of feminine aspects in both of these creation myths has been usurped by a masculine essence of figure, both of whom are connected to wisdom and powerful intelligence. In both, water and earth have a very close relation, but lay dormant, almost as if waiting for something to come along and give direction to an otherwise static existence. This can be seen even more profoundly in a passage from Genesis just prior to the creation of man, in which the usefulness of man is asserted as a requirement for the development of certain feminine principles, specifically fertility:

“And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.” (Genesis 2:5)

Obviously, the fertile earth cannot become fertile in these myths until it is plowed, seeded, and tilled. On a deeper level, this demonstrates the intent to put masculine or male energies forth not only as necessary for fertility, but as the catalyst. One might interpret this as a union of feminine (earth, water) and masculine (plow, male essence) to create a unity that leads to the formation of life. However, in all of these examples, it is not a co-operation, but rather a need for the male to spark things into motion. The feminine essence lays dormant, inactive, until a male essence asserts itself as dominant and puts things into motion. Where some myths create unity, these myths inspire oppression. This is further demonstrated at later points in the Greek and Judeo-Christian myths of early creation with the “first” human women. In both, we find stories that demonstrate how women cause the end of purity, innocence, or paradise through their actions, and bring woe to men.
In the Greek myth, Pandora is the first human woman created by Zeus, a male god, and sent as punishment to Prometheus and Epimetheus for being so brash as to steal fire from Olympus. She eventually releases various plagues upon mankind because of her own insatiable curiosity, only managing to trap hope in the box/jar/vessel. While it might be said that Pandora has done a great thing by managing to trap hope so that it will never truly leave mankind, there is an entirely different message when you analyze this more closely. By opening the vessel, horrible things are able to come into the world because they are freed. When they were inside the vessel, they were unable to cause such atrocities in the world as when they were unleashed. So how is that hope is still there for mankind if it is still trapped in the vessel? If it is trapped in the vessel, it is not a part of the world. The real message in this myth is that women have caused terrible things to come into this world, and even should men be able to face them, women will always trap their hope in a vessel.
The Judeo-Christian myth is much more direct in its approach to this theme. In the pages of the Old Testament, we find Eve beguiled initially by a serpent. But it is not the words of the serpent that truly tempt her into eating the fruit; this is key to the intent behind the words:

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” (Genesis 3:6)

In this passage, it seems that Eve has chosen to eat the fruit from the tree not because she was enticed by the serpent, as many would suggest, but because she looked at it after it was drawn to her attention and decided she wanted to eat the fruit from the tree. When viewed in this context, the passage paints women in a very negative light, especially considering the repercussions that befell women because of her misdeeds. Those very same repercussions further enforce the role women are intended to play as outlined by these myths:

“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it for all the days of thy life;” (Genesis 3:16-17)

There are several very telling phrases in the above passage, indicating the position this myth takes on the role of women in their relation to men. That a woman’s “desire shall be to [her] husband,” and that “he shall rule over” her demonstrate that males are placed in a role of nearly supreme dominance over women according to this myth. More strikingly, Adam is punished by God because he “hearkened unto the voice” of his wife, Eve, displaying an attitude that places women directly outside of a decision-making role in relationships. In a parallel to the myth of Pandora, it was the female who brought an end to purity, innocence, and paradise on earth. Moreover, based on the analysis of the Pandora myth and what we see above, it was a woman who brought toil and sorrow upon the men of future generations.
Having already somewhat discussed the symbolic meanings of various aspects of these two myths, an analysis of their meaning and source is very important to fully grasp the intent behind them. In both, a male essence is placed as superior to feminine, and women are treated as punishments, unleashing terrible things upon mankind. This is rooted in the Freudian libido, which is the powerful sex drive that fuels the inner desires of human beings. In The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud defined dreams as “latent content” rising to the “manifest content.” Similarly, he asserted that myths are an external manifestation of the internal, psychic process; and that they are biographical in nature, based on experiences in life rather than some innate pool of knowledge. From this perspective, we can see how the male subconscious would give rise to such myths. In dealing with the frustrations of the libido, which would be largely related to problems with women and their claim to power over motherhood and the survival of the human race, men formed myths that stripped the female power over the process of birth via the implication that the male is needed as a catalyst, and that if “there was not a man to till the ground” that the ground would remain barren and unproductive.
Further, to gain some mastery over their frustrations with the opposite sex, these myths place women in a role subordinate to men. Not only shall a wife’s desire be to her husband, but “he will rule over” her. In the Greek, Epimetheus is married to Pandora, who is lovely and sweet, but she is also a punishment for his pride and his deeds. In these myths we see a profound and powerful attempt to subjugate women to the will and desires of the men, as well as to alleviate the burden of libidic frustrations when dealing with the feminine sex.
As evidenced above, these two myths share some very powerful symbols. They both have stories of humanity being created by a male god from the feminine essence of earth, with strong correlations to the feminine essence of water. Further, they both have stories of human women bringing woe to the world of men, and, more specifically, into the lives of their husbands. The Freudian perspective has given some interesting insight into why these myths might have been formed for reasons stemming from the individual subconscious, with roots in the libido and frustrations of mankind. After having gone through these points, it becomes clear that both of these myths have misogynistic leanings and place human females into a role subordinate to human males, going so far as to usurp the power of creation from ancient and potent feminine symbols used many times in mythologies all over the world.